Oluwaseun Abimbola is a writer, researcher, and child advocate. He is currently a Ph.D. student in African Studies at the University of Ibadan. Oluwaseun is the Communications and Research Uptake Manager of the ARISE&WIN Research Project. As a communication expert of over 15 years, he is the Lead Consultant at Prowrite Services, a communication firm that provides educational consultancy and integrated communication services to individuals, organisations, and businesses. He is also the Founder/Team Lead of the Breach Repairers, an organisation that advocates mentoring for teenagers to prepare them for leadership and service.

He also volunteers as a Management Lead at The Destiny Trust Children Foundation, a non-profit providing care, education, and empowerment opportunities to street and homeless children. Oluwaseun is passionate about care and inclusive education for vulnerable children.

Temitope Ajayi is the founder and CEO of Bumesthy Fashion Affairs with more than fifteen years of experience. She earned a PGD in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Akure in Ondo State, Nigeria.

Her mission is to provide quality tailoring creativity to the fashion industry in Nigeria and internationally by offering stylish, refined, satisfied, on-time, and above all, economical services using cutting-edge technology and following current trends in a highly creative environment. She joins the ARISE&WIN Research Project as a self-employed woman consultant. She currently lives in Ibadan. When she is not stitching, you can find her in a church classroom instructing young people.

Joshua Akinyemi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He holds a PhD in Medical Statistics/ Demography and has attended advanced trainings and workshops at the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA; and University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. He has expertise in advanced demographic/statistical modelling and multi-country analysis of complex nationally-representative household surveys; and has facilitated several trainings and capacity building workshops.

Dr Akinyemi is a recipient of several international fellowships including the Consortium for Advanced Research Training [CARTA] doctoral fellowship in 2010, CARTA postdoctoral fellowship and Wits University Research Council Postdoctoral fellowship. His broad research interests focus on demographic and statistical modelling of mortality, reproductive and child health outcomes. As a medical statistician, he is a collaborator on several research grants, epidemiological and clinical studies of cardiovascular diseases, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. Dr Akinyemi has participated in many international conferences and have papers published in reputable peer-reviewed journals.

He is a member of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), International Society for Clinical Biostatistics, International Epidemiological Association, Population Association of America among other professional organizations

Olafunmilayo Adebukola Akinpelu is a Social Worker in the Oyo State Government Civil Service with 21 years of working experience. Presently, she delivers her duties as the Head of Unit, Gender in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion (Women Programme Department), Secretariat, Ibadan with the responsibility of coordinating all gender matters. Olafunmilayo also works as a Gender Officer alongside the Oyo State Cash Transfer Unit (SCTU) of the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO), Abuja and OYO STATE COVID-19 ACTION RECOVERY AND ECONOMIC STIMULUS PROGRAMME (OY-CARES) where she handles all gender issues including Gender-Based Violence (GBV) affecting the poorest of the poor and most vulnerable households/individuals who are beneficiaries of the programmes.

She is vastly known as “Mama Gender” due to her active roles in various community engagements with community leaders such as the Traditional Rulers, Religious Leaders, Youth groups and other community Leaders as well as vulnerable groups of people, especially women in the Local Government Areas across the State by sensitizing them on Gender, Social Inclusion and Gender- Based Violence and eliciting their support in achieving gender equality. In addition, Olafunmilayo is also engaged by UNFPA to work in some Project LGAs in the State on various activities to end the menace of Female Genital Mutilation in Oyo State In Year 2019, She won the Oyo State Proficiency Award as the most efficient worker in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion due to her outstanding performances in any task she is assigned to.

Olafunmilayo has the ability to develop interpersonal relationships with other people, do a team work and is driven by the passion to provide succor to vulnerable youths and women she comes across with. Additionally, Olafunmilayo has interest in providing counselling and other psychosocial support to “at risk” people. She also contributes significantly and effectively in improving the lives of vulnerable groups of people in society. Creating in people a sense of belonging and being optimistic is part of what she believes and make other people to have positive outlook towards it. Currently, she possesses M.Ed. in Health Education as the highest degree after her first degree while she is a Ph. D student in the University of Ibadan. Akinpelu has made some paper presentations at various levels on Gender and related gender issues.

Olayinka Egbokhare, B.A., M.A., Ph. d., (IBADAN), lectures in the Department of Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan. She also heads the Biomedical Communication Centre of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. She was a Commonwealth Rutherford Fellow with the University of Warwick Medical School in 2018/2019. Her research interests include Media Effect Studies, Health promotion and Advocacy, Writing as Communication, Advertising Message Development, Behaviour Change /Communication Campaign and Gender Studies.

She has served as a consultant to several organisations in projects around her areas of interest. She was part of the Communication Team that health workers for UNICEF’s Interpersonal Communication intervention for Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT of HIV). She was a member of the steering committee that of University of Ibadan’s Gender and Sexual Harassment Policies. Her novel titled Dazzling Mirage which explored the challenges face by a character living with Sickle Cell Anaemia has been made into a film by Tunde Kelani, Nigeria’s Award Winning Cinematopher. The film won the Audience choice Award in 2014 at the Nollywood Week Paris Film Festival.

She is a recipient of the McArthur Staff Development Grant from the University of Ibadan. She enjoys working with students to develop communication interventions that are relevant, culturally sensitive and user friendly.

She brings on this project her vast experience with communication campaigns and advocacy for gender equity and women empowerment.

Iyeyinka Kusi-Mensah is the lead postdoctoral research fellow on the Advancing Resiliency in Self-Employed young Women in Nigeria (ARISE&WIN) grant. She is also currently rounding up her PhD in Sociology at the University of Cambridge and is an associate lecturer at the Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (C-CAMH), University of Ibadan, Nigeria where she teaches courses on literature review writing and ethnography.

She completed her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude with highest honours and Phi Beta Kappa in Social Anthropology and African Studies at Harvard University in 2016 with a citation in French. She obtained an MPhil in Political and Economic Sociology from the University of Cambridge in 2019.

She is interested in youth employment issues in Africa and is passionate about helping to create an environment where Africa youth can have dignified and fulfilling work. Her doctoral thesis aims to map the social network landscape of self-employed youth in Ghana and Nigeria and look at how their social networks affect the quality of their work. Her methodological strengths are ethnography, qualitative and mixed methods research. In her leisure time, she enjoys reading, creative writing, traveling, cooking and spending time with family and friends.

Opeyemi Ajibola is a lecturer at the Department of English, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Her research interests include Literature and Medicine, Gender Studies, African Migrant Literature and Trauma Studies. She holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in English, both from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. She recently completed her doctoral thesis on the representations of trauma in African Migrant Fiction.

Opeyemi strongly believes that there must be a connection between the gown and the town, hence, the dividends of research must translate into meaningful changes in the lived realities of members of the society. She seeks ways by which literature would impact meaningfully on society, especially with regards to health and well-being.

Opeyemi has published papers and conducted research that examined the intersections of literature and medicine and how literary texts can aid patients' understanding of their challenges and also foster empathetic understanding in caregivers and medical personnel. She is interested in activities, research, training and projects that are geared towards reparation, recovery, and resilience, and most importantly post-traumatic growth in trauma survivors, especially women.

• LINKS:

• Orcid

Dickson Ogunkunle is a self-motivated researcher with Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan. He is a fellow of the Emmy Noether Research Group at Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany. His collaborative project with Dr Stefanie Walter of the Department of Governance at TUM, has recently won the Global Incentive Fund initiative of the institution. On that basis, Dickson was at TUM in January 2023 as a visiting researcher, where he was one of the speakers at the Brown Bag Event of the TUM Think Tank titled “Science & Crisis Communication: Perspectives from the Global South and North”.

Dickson has a great flair for interdisciplinary research with more interest and competence in qualitative methods/designs. His research interest cuts across Journalism, Media Studies, Development Communication and New Media. He has taught English Language in various colleges, and he is presently a Teaching Assistant under the aegis of the Centre for General Studies, University of Ibadan. He has a couple of peer-reviewed publications in international and local academic outlets while many of his research articles are under review for publication. Dickson is visible on Google Scholar and ResearchGate. He is on the project as a Research Assistant.

• LINKS:

• ResearchGate

Oluwabukola Adeoye is a young researcher who is passionate about integrating arts-based interventions in medical practice in Nigeria. She has both a Masters degree in English and Literary Studies and in Child and Adolescent Mental Health from the University of Ibadan. She is a member of the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship, Nigeria and has also had the opportunity to work on some international research projects focusing on mental health issues in children and young adults. She will be working as a Research Assistant on the ARISE&WIN project.

Abdussalam Nafisah. O. has a background in Animal science, and has an experience of a few years with research work, and has served in capacity as an editor of an online research publication. She is a writer, editor and researcher. She serves as a volunteer consultant at a research hub. She currently works as a research assistant on the ARISE&WIN research project. In this role, she assists in qualitative and quantitative research, as well as other aspects of the research. She is an avid reader, loves solving jigsaw puzzles, and an anime fan. She is a dynamic individual, who enjoys learning new things, and listening to trot music

Samuel A. Sijuade is a trained Health Educator with in-depth skills in Public Health practice and research. As a Government of India Scholar, He obtained his master’s degree in Public Health at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center, Kochi, India. He also obtained his bachelor’s degree in Health Education from the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. He is currently a Research Assistant on the ARISE&WIN Project. In this role, he is actively involved in research planning, data collection and management, and other activities relevant to the project. He has a wide array of interests with transdisciplinary expressions. However, his major focus is on behavioral risk reduction. He aims at developing solutions, enhancing processes, and improving global health indices through well-researched interventions. Outside of his work, he loves writing poetry, playing chess and the game of tennis.

• LINKS:

• ResearchGate

Tijesunimi Adebiyi holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering with First Class Honours from the University of Ibadan. He has previously worked as a Software Developer at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. He is known for his passion for continuous learning and his ability to use technology to solve complex problems. With a keen eye for detail and a creative approach to problem-solving, Tijesunimi enjoys reading, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, and musical instruments in his free time. He is also actively involved in volunteering and mentoring programs, where he shares his knowledge and mentors secondary school students and junior colleagues.

Feyisara is a licensed Child and Adolescent Mental Health Professional who has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Special Education and a Master of Science Degree in Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) from the University of Ibadan. Feyisara had received several trainings and certificates in Mental Health courses including Mental Health Gap Action Plan (Mhgap) and Quality Right e-Training through World Health Organization (W.H.O).

Feyisara volunteers as a Mental Health Therapist in a Non-governmental Organization which provides a safe and supportive platform where children, adolescents and young adults can address their mental health needs without being judged through intrinsic abilities and resources to overcome mental health threatening life challenges. Over the years, she has gained a wide variety of experiences working with children and adolescents with anxiety disorders, depression, suicidal ideation and substance use.

Feyisara, outside of academics, is a seasoned entrepreneur in the world of fashion. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Feyisara was able to develop an innovative strategy for promoting her fashion world through friends’, family, and personal social media accounts. She makes her dreams come true through hard work. She believes a big dream comes with a bigger task. She is joining the project as one of the self-Employed women consultants.

Oluwatomisin Owoade is the CEO/Founder of Abeni Prints, a Textile design Company located in Basorun, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Abeni Prints produces locally made fabrics such as Adire, Batik, and prints. The company is registered and specializes in the production of exquisite wear for the fashion industry, as well as revamping used fabrics in Nigeria.

The brand is passionate about producing classic wear using sustainable fabrics that are acceptable both locally and internationally. As a result, Abeni Prints has gained recognition from top organizations and is accredited as a facilitator for the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (SAED) under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The company has trained over 10,000 youths, with 75% of them being women, and has received numerous testimonies from successful trainees who have established their own businesses.

Abeni is also an alumnus of 7eleven Foundation, a Southwest MSME Ambassador founded by His Excellency Oba Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife, and has been nominated for several awards. In June 2020, she won a National Award of Excellence in Creative Arts by the National MSME Clinics.

Aderayo Animashaun has over 17 years of experience in manufacturing shoes, bags, and fashion accessories. She is the Creative Director of Switt Fashion and Leather Works, where she designs and manages factory production to meet customer needs. She is also the CEO of De'rayo Vocational Limited, where she provides fashion skills training to youths and housewives. In 2019, she launched the project "Transforming 10,000 Teenagers to Young Bosses" in Oyo state, Ibadan, Nigeria, offering free vocational skills training to 10,000 secondary school pupils.

Aderayo Animashaun holds a bachelor's degree in Entrepreneurial and Business Management from the National Open University (NOUN), as well as a Diploma in Marketing from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun state. She has also studied French and holds a Delf Certificate. She was selected among the Top 50 Women in Business in Nigeria (WOMEN X 11) and sponsored by the World Bank to study Entrepreneurial Management at the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), Lagos Business School. She is an alumna of AWE, having fulfilled her creative, arts, and entrepreneurial passions. In 2019, she studied Entrepreneurship Management at the Global Entrepreneurship Training (GET) West Africa by Hangdon University, South Korea. She was nominated for excellence in fashion and style at the National MSME Awards 2022, Federal Government of Nigeria. Her story was also selected by UNESCO in 2021 as one of the 50 most kind persons in the world, representing Nigeria, and featured in the "Kindness Matters" book. She serves as the Oyo state leader for AFDEC, Art and Craft Export Cluster leader in Oyo state, Southwest Welfare Coordinator for AWEP, and Project Coordinator for Southwest MSME.

Aderayo Animashaun is driven by a passion to reduce unemployment rates in Nigeria and has received various awards, including the Best Female Entrepreneur Award in 2018 and 2019 from Popa Awards, as well as the Most Influential Personality in Oyo state in 2018 and 2019 from Ibadan Media.

Ade F. Adeniyi is a Professor of Physiotherapy with interests in physical activity and health promotion as applicable to wellness promotion and the prevention/control of noncommunicable diseases. In over 20 years of practice, he has led and been part of several collaborative research projects for a better understanding of the factors associated with being physically active/inactive, and the utilisation of physical activity for wellness promotion.

He is also involved in the planning and execution of wellness programmes, design of physical activity educational resources, investigating physical health and well-being among different populations including women, and being part of a national/multinational group of researchers establishing physical activity scorecards for youths and children.

He is the Director of Physical Activity of the Nigerian Heart Foundation, and the Director of Exercise is Medicine®, Nigeria, an agency coordinated by the American College of Sports Medicine. He plans to bring his expertise into the design and implementation of wellness programme in this project.

• LINKS:

• Google Scholar
• Orcid

Olayinka Omigbodun is a professor of Psychiatry and the first female Provost of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (CoMUI). She assumed the role on August 1, 2020, for a four-year term. She graduated with an MBBS degree from the University of Ibadan in 1985, receiving the Prize in Physiology. She completed her residency training in psychiatry in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, obtaining Fellowships from the Nigerian Postgraduate Medical College and the West African College of Physicians in Psychiatry in 1991. In 1992, she also obtained a Diploma in Psychiatry from the University of Manchester. From 1993 to 1996, she received training in Family Therapy at the Department of Family Studies, University of Pennsylvania, and was a Visiting Scholar at the Bipolar Disorders Unit at the same university. In 1998, she was awarded a British Chevening Scholarship to study at the University of Leeds, where she obtained a Master's in Public Health with Distinction in 1999, receiving the John Griffiths Prize.

She joined the faculty of the University of Ibadan in 1997 and was promoted to the rank of professor on October 1, 2008, becoming the first female Professor of Psychiatry in Nigeria. From 2011 to 2020, Olayinka served as the founding director of the University's MacArthur Foundation-funded Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CCAMH), a multidisciplinary centre for advocacy, training, research, and service in child and adolescent mental health. CCAMH has attracted participants from 14 sub-Saharan African countries, with over 130 graduates from the Master of Science program in Child and Adolescent Mental Health (MSc. CAMH). Olayinka served as the President of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) from 2010 to 2014, being the first African to hold this position since the organization's founding in 1937, with chapters in over 70 countries. She has received several awards, including the African Leadership Award in Child and Adolescent Mental Health (2019) from the African Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (AACAMH), the International Contribution Award from IACAPAP (2020), and the World Psychiatric Association Honorary Membership Award (2020). She is a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science (FAS) and a Foundation Fellow of both the Nigerian Academy of Medicine (FNAMed) and the Nigerian Academy of Medicine Specialties (FAMedS). She has published over 130 journal articles and book chapters, with most of her publications focusing on Child and Youth Psychiatry and Mental Health.

Professor Olayinka Omigbodun is the Principal Investigator on the Arise&Win Project.

• LINKS:

• Google Scholar
• Research Gate
• Orcid

Iyeyinka Kusi-Mensah is the lead postdoctoral research fellow on the Advancing Resiliency in Self-Employed young Women in Nigeria (ARISE&WIN) grant. She is also currently rounding up her PhD in Sociology at the University of Cambridge and is an associate lecturer at the Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (C-CAMH), University of Ibadan, Nigeria where she teaches courses on literature review writing and ethnography.

She completed her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude with highest honours and Phi Beta Kappa in Social Anthropology and African Studies at Harvard University in 2016 with a citation in French. She obtained an MPhil in Political and Economic Sociology from the University of Cambridge in 2019.

She is interested in youth employment issues in Africa and is passionate about helping to create an environment where Africa youth can have dignified and fulfilling work. Her doctoral thesis aims to map the social network landscape of self-employed youth in Ghana and Nigeria and look at how their social networks affect the quality of their work. Her methodological strengths are ethnography, qualitative and mixed methods research. In her leisure time, she enjoys reading, creative writing, traveling, cooking and spending time with family and friends.

Opeyemi Ajibola is a lecturer at the Department of English, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Her research interests include Literature and Medicine, Gender Studies, African Migrant Literature and Trauma Studies. She holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in English, both from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. She recently completed her doctoral thesis on the representations of trauma in African Migrant Fiction.

Opeyemi strongly believes that there must a connection between the gown and the town, hence, the dividends of research must translate into meaningful changes in the lived realities of members of the society. She seeks ways by which literature would impact meaningfully on society, especially with regards to health and well-being.

Opeyemi has published papers and conducted research that examined the intersections of literature and medicine and how literary texts can aid patients' understanding of their challenges and also foster empathetic understanding in caregivers and medical personnel. She is interested in activities, research, training and projects that are geared towards reparation, recovery, and resilience, and most importantly post-traumatic growth in trauma survivors, especially women.

• LINKS:

• Orcid

Oluwabukola Adeoye is a young researcher who is passionate about integrating arts-based interventions in medical practice in Nigeria. She has both a Masters degree in English and Literary Studies and in Child and Adolescent Mental Health from the University of Ibadan. She is a member of the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship, Nigeria and has also had the opportunity to work on some international research projects focusing on mental health issues in children and young adults. She will be working as a Research Assistant on the ARISE&WIN project.

Abdussalam Nafisah. O. has a background in Animal science, and has an experience of a few years with research work, and as served in capacity as an editor of an online research publication. She is writer, editor and researcher. She serves as a volunteer consultant at a research hub. She currently works as a research assistant on the ARISE&WIN research project. In this role, she assists in qualitative and quantitative research, as well as other aspects of the research. She is an avid reader, loves solving jigsaw puzzles, an anime fan. She is a dynamic individual, who enjoys learning new things, and listening to trot music

Samuel A. Sijuade is a trained Health Educator with in-depth skills in Public Health practice and research. As a Government of India Scholar, He obtained his master’s degree in Public Health at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center, Kochi, India. He also obtained his bachelor’s degree in Health Education from the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. He is currently a Research Assistant on the ARISE&WIN Project. In this role, he is actively involved in research planning, data collection and management, and other activities relevant to the project. He has a wide array of interests with transdisciplinary expressions. However, his major focus is on behavioral risk reduction. He aims at developing solutions, enhancing processes, and improving global health indices through well-researched interventions. Outside of his work, he loves writing poetry, playing chess and the game of tennis.

Tijesunimi Adebiyi holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering with First Class Honours from the University of Ibadan. He has previously worked as a Software Developer at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. He is known for his passion for continuous learning and his ability to use technology to solve complex problems. With a keen eye for detail and a creative approach to problem-solving, Tijesunimi enjoys reading, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, and musical instruments in his free time. He is also actively involved in volunteering and mentoring programs, where he shares his knowledge and mentors secondary school students and junior colleagues.

Feyisara is a licensed Child and Adolescent Mental Health Professional who has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Special Education and a Master of Science Degree in Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) from the University of Ibadan. Feyisara had received several trainings and certificates in Mental Health courses including Mental Health Gap Action Plan (Mhgap) and Quality Right e-Training through World Health Organization (W.H.O).

Feyisara volunteers as a Mental Health Therapist in a Non-governmental Organization which provides a safe and supportive platform where children, adolescents and young adult can address their mental health needs without being judged through intrinsic abilities and resources to overcome mental health threatening life challenges. Over the years, she has gained a wide variety of experiences working with children and adolescents with anxiety disorders, depression, suicidal ideation and substance use.

Feyisara, outside of academics, is a seasoned entrepreneur in the world of fashion. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Feyisara was able to develop an innovative strategy for promoting her fashion world through friends’, family, and personal social media accounts. She makes her dreams come true through hard work. She believes a big dream comes with a bigger task. She is joining the project as one of the self-Employed women consultants.

Oluwatomisin Owoade is the CEO/Founder of Abeni Prints, a Textile design Company located in Basorun, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Abeni Prints produces locally made fabrics such as Adire, Batik, and prints. The company is registered and specializes in the production of exquisite wear for the fashion industry, as well as revamping used fabrics in Nigeria.

The brand is passionate about producing classic wear using sustainable fabrics that are acceptable both locally and internationally. As a result, Abeni Prints has gained recognition from top organizations and is accredited as a facilitator for the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (SAED) under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The company has trained over 10,000 youths, with 75% of them being women, and has received numerous testimonies from successful trainees who have established their own businesses.

Abeni is also an alumnus of 7eleven Foundation, a Southwest MSME Ambassador founded by His Excellency Oba Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife, and has been nominated for several awards. In June 2020, she won a National Award of Excellence in Creative Arts by the National MSME Clinics.

Aderayo Animashaun has over 17 years of experience in manufacturing shoes, bags, and fashion accessories. She is the Creative Director of Switt Fashion and Leather Works, where she designs and manages factory production to meet customer needs. She is also the CEO of De'rayo Vocational Limited, where she provides fashion skills training to youths and housewives. In 2019, she launched the project "Transforming 10,000 Teenagers to Young Bosses" in Oyo state, Ibadan, Nigeria, offering free vocational skills training to 10,000 secondary school pupils.

Aderayo Animashaun holds a bachelor's degree in Entrepreneurial and Business Management from the National Open University (NOUN), as well as a Diploma in Marketing from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun state. She has also studied French and holds a Delf Certificate. She was selected among the Top 50 Women in Business in Nigeria (WOMEN X 11) and sponsored by the World Bank to study Entrepreneurial Management at the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), Lagos Business School. She is an alumna of AWE, having fulfilled her creative, arts, and entrepreneurial passions. In 2019, she studied Entrepreneurship Management at the Global Entrepreneurship Training (GET) West Africa by Hangdon University, South Korea. She was nominated for excellence in fashion and style at the National MSME Awards 2022, Federal Government of Nigeria. Her story was also selected by UNESCO in 2021 as one of the 50 most kind persons in the world, representing Nigeria, and featured in the "Kindness Matters" book. She serves as the Oyo state leader for AFDEC, Art and Craft Export Cluster leader in Oyo state, Southwest Welfare Coordinator for AWEP, and Project Coordinator for Southwest MSME.

Aderayo Animashaun is driven by a passion to reduce unemployment rates in Nigeria and has received various awards, including the Best Female Entrepreneur Award in 2018 and 2019 from Popa Awards, as well as the Most Influential Personality in Oyo state in 2018 and 2019 from Ibadan Media.

Srividya Iyer is a Full Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She is also an Associate Member of McGill’s School of Population and Global Health and a Researcher at the Douglas Research Centre in Montreal, Canada. Srividya is a licensed psychologist. Her research seeks to ensure that more young people have timely access to high-quality, youth-friendly mental healthcare and enjoy well-being and social and economic participation. Srividya partners with youth, families, and communities to influence practice and policy in Canada and globally. She leads ACCESS Open Minds, a pan-Canadian network of 250+ diverse stakeholders serving urban, rural, Indigenous, post-secondary, and homeless youths at 16 sites. She also co-leads a pan-Canadian Indigenous youth services network. Srividya significantly contributes to various mental health capacity-building and research projects globally. These include projects in India, where she was born and obtained her initial training, and in Bangladesh and Nigeria. In addition to ARISE&WIN on which she is the Canadian Principal Investigator, Srividya has been collaborating with Dr. Olayinka Omigbodun at the University of Ibadan on Transform, a project seeking to partner with traditional and faith healers to improve access to care for persons with serious mental illnesses and ISOBAR, a school-based early mental and physical health detection and support project.

Srividya has received numerous awards and was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists and named on the inaugural list of Canadian Women leaders in Global Health. She is the Vice President of the International Association for Youth Mental Health.

Dr. Taksal is the Research Coordinator for global mental health projects in Prof. Iyer's research program at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montreal, Canada. She oversees the research cycle from beginning to end, ensuring smooth coordination. In the ARISE&WIN project, Dr. Taksal holds the role of Canadian Research Coordinator, responsible for coordinating research activities in Canada and working closely with the research team in Nigeria for project implementation.

Dr. Taksal holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. Her expertise in mental health is rooted in her personal experience as a service user, as well as her professional background as a clinician, academic, and researcher. Additionally, she is fluent in multiple languages. As a cisgender woman, she actively supports the queer community as an ally. Dr. Taksal finds joy in engaging with people and cherishes the opportunity to listen to their stories while sharing a cup of tea or coffee.

• LINKS:

• ResearchGate

Funmilola OlaOlorun is a Community Health Physician with a PhD in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. She teaches and supervises research of medical and postgraduate public health students in her current role as Senior Lecturer in the Reproductive and Family Health Unit of the Department of Community Medicine at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Her research is focused on women's health across the life course. More specifically, she has conducted research in Nigeria in areas such as family planning, fertility desires, household decision-making, professional support for breastfeeding, gender issues, intimate partner violence, and menopause.

Dr. OlaOlorun has served as principal investigator, co-principal investigator and investigator in many internationally funded studies, managing institutional grants with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, FHI Partners, and as sub-recipient of grants through the Johns Hopkins University, Ohio State University, International Center for Research on Women, and the African Institute for Development Policy.

• LINKS:

• ResearchGate

Grace Oderinde is the Permanent Secretary at the Oyo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion.

Eyinade Gbadesire is an adaptable and results-oriented Social Work professional with experience in crisis intervention, discharge planning, and integrated and social service delivery. She holds an MSC (Med Soc), B.S.W, and a Diploma in Trade Unionism & Industrial Relations, all from the University of Ibadan. She also has certifications in Mental Healthcare and NGO Management, among others. She works with the Oyo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion and is also the CEO of Careforte International, a Non-Governmental Organisation that advocates for equity, social justice, and fairness for vulnerable groups in society. She possesses excellent communication, interpersonal, time management, and creative thinking skills. She is a determined goal-getter and her role on the ARISE&WIN Project is the Co-Investigator & Policy Decision Maker.

Kwabena is a Senior Specialist psychiatrist with additional training in Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) based at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana. He is highly qualified and holds the fellowship of the West Africa College of Physicians. Kwabena also serves as a part-time Lecturer at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, KNUST.

His passion for children and adolescents' mental health led him to expand one of the earliest multi-disciplinary CAMH clinics in Ghana in 2017. He pursued a master's program at the Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and graduated at the top of his class.

Kwabena has received several awards and grants, including the prestigious Lasker Essay Prize in 2020. He won this prize in a worldwide essay competition for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) organized by the US-based Lasker Foundation. His thought-provoking essay titled "As One Single Tribe: Thinking Globally and Locally" garnered recognition.

Aside from his clinical and academic roles, Kwabena actively participates in various mental health groups and societies. He serves as the current President of the African Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (AACAMH), a continent-wide advocacy organization operating in 19 African countries. Additionally, he holds the position of Vice President of the Psychiatric Association of Ghana (PAG).

Kwabena's commitment to advancing research and understanding in the field of child and adolescent mental health led him to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge. He is currently in his fourth year of the program and is focused on developing culturally appropriate tools for assessing executive and adaptive functioning in children and adolescents in West Africa. He also explores local conceptualizations of cognition. His work has gained recognition and was featured on a local Cambridge Blog.

On the ARISE&WIN project, Kwabena contributes his extensive experience and expertise in scoping and systematic reviews. He has published in both formats and serves as a consultant to Workstream 3.1a, which focuses on systematic and scoping reviews.

• LINKS:

• ResearchGate

Adeola Afolayan is a Research and Grant Manager at the Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CCAMH), College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. With eight years of experience in finance and administration management, she has been involved in program implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, specifically in the areas of capacity building, advocacy, needs assessment, and the development and delivery of mental health interventions. Adeola's research interests lie in children and youth mental health. She has led and co-authored publications in peer-reviewed journals. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD program at the University of Warwick, focusing on adolescent wellbeing and exploring the experiences, wellbeing, and needs of adolescents whose parents have serious mental illness in urban slums in Ibadan, Nigeria. Adeola brings her expertise in research, finance, and administration, as well as mental health, to the Arise&Win project.

Rita Frinue Tamambang holds a Doctor of Medicine Degree (MD) from the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, Cameroon (2016) and a Master of Science degree in Child and Adolescent Mental Health (MSc. CAMH) from the Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental health (CCAMH), University of Ibadan, Nigeria (2018). In 2020, she was selected to participate in the prestigious, highly competitive Donald Cohen Fellowship, a leadership training for promising emerging young leaders in the field of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. In addition, she recently won the Afya Bora Fellowship in Global Health Leadership, a fellowship aimed at training leaders in global health in sub-Saharan Africa. She works at CCAMH as a junior research fellow in the UK Research and Innovation Global Challenges Research Funds Project on Accelerating Achievements for Africa’s Adolescent Hub, Nigeria Team. In this capacity, she has established factors that will enable adolescents in Nigeria and Ghana to achieve the SDGs through research and has proposed policy reforms through policy briefs. She is also the Programme Manager of the Support for Support Comprehensive Care and EmpowErment of persons with psychosocial Disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria Team) and a junior resident at the Department of Psychiatry, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Her research focuses on youth mental health and the mental health of infants, with a particular interest in adolescent mothers. She is on the ARISE&WIN project as a consultant for the quantitative workstream.

Chuka Ononye is an accomplished mental health advocate and professional dedicated to enhancing the well-being of children and adolescents. With a master's degree in Child and Adolescent Mental Health from the esteemed University of Ibadan, Chuka's outstanding academic performance has earned him numerous awards for excellence.

Currently serving as the Research Uptake Manager at the Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CCAMH) within the College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan, Chuka leads the Uptake workstream and serves as a Communication Consultant for research projects focused on youth mental health. He plays a crucial role in effectively disseminating and utilizing research findings to bridge the gap between academia and practice.

In addition to his work at CCAMH, Chuka coordinates the African Hub of the Mental Health Innovation Network hosted at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Through this role, he actively promotes and coordinates innovative mental health initiatives across the African continent, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing among stakeholders.

Chuka serves as a Communication Consultant on the ARISE&WIN Project, utilizing his expertise in mental health advocacy and communication to support the project's mission of empowering and uplifting young individuals.

Oyeteju Odufuwa holds a doctoral degree in Economics. She is a lecturer in the Department of Economics, University of Ibadan. Trained as a health and development economist, her areas of interest span across Mental health, Economics of Population and other developmental issues. She also serves as a Research Fellow at the Health Policy, Training and Research Programme (HPTRP), University of Ibadan; a team of researchers empowered in the use of the National Transfer Accounts (NTA) to estimate and train stakeholders on Demographic Dividend Sensitization and Estimation in Nigeria and Africa. Oyeteju is also a volunteer in the Youthcare Development Empowerment and Initiative Program (YcDEI) where she was part of the team of trainers who trained pupils, teachers, and parents in public primary schools in Ibadan, Oyo State on School Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV). She was also involved in a TETFUND project which explored the prevalence and determinants of School Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV) in public primary schools across five (5) States in Nigeria. She is a Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Prize Winner Alumni and a recipient of the African Economic Research Consortium Scholarship for PhD students in Sub-Saharan Africa. Oyeteju is currently a post-doctoral fellow (quantitative) on the ARISE&WIN Research Project at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Oyebode Oluwaseyi Adedoyin is a passionate Biostatistician with an interest in Statistical Modelling, Psychometrics and Survival Analysis. She bags her bachelor’s degree in Statistics and Master’s degree in Biostatistics. She is a seasoned quantitative data analyst. In recent times, she had worked as a research assistant on a couple of public health research and deployed her statistical knowledge on the design, analysis, and reporting of the findings. Most of her academic publications are on Statistical Modelling and Spatiotemporal analysis.

Oluwaseyi is currently a Research Assistant on ARISE and WIN Project, at the University of Ibadan. As a team member on the project, Oluwaseyi is participating in fieldwork, collaborating with other team members to develop the research tools, and conducting interviews. As a biostatistician, she is also on the project to coordinate the use of advanced statistical software and techniques to analyse and interpret the research’s data.

Timothy I. Ibe is a highly skilled and experienced professional with a background in Biotechnology and Information Technology. He has four years of experience as a Research Administrator at the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, and is currently the Program Coordinator for the ARISE&WIN Research Project at the same institution. In this role, he coordinates research activities at various field sites, facilitates team engagement, contributes to research planning and protocol development, provides support to the Principal Investigator, and performs various administrative tasks.

Additionally, he is a co-author and award-winning debater, with several certifications, including a certificate in public procurement from the World Bank. Timothy is also a developer and musicologist, and he is passionate about the use of computational tools and Bioinformatics. He possesses several abilities including the ability to manage and work with people in a team, adaptability, innovation, and fast learning.